‘There is one guy that no one talks about’: Jayden Short has become Richmond’s secret weapon

Dustin Martin and Trent Cotchin get around Jayden Short in Perth recently.Source: Getty Images

THERE is one player at Punt Road who is flying under the radar right now. He looked on from the stands when Richmond ended a 37-year premiership drought last year, but he hasn’t been out of Damien Hardwick’s side since.

His name is Jayden Short and he is the most improved player on the Tigers’ list behind midfielder-turned-forward Josh Caddy.

While the big four — Alex Rance, Dustin Martin, Jack Riewoldt and Trent Cotchin — attract the lion share of attention, and with good reason, Short’s form is starting to generate plenty of interest.

The 22-year-old produced the best performance of his short career in Saturday night’s Dreamtime game at the MCG, amassing a career-high 28 disposals, including 22 kicks, nine rebound 50s and a whopping 659 metres gained.

What Short does as well as any Tiger is gain territory and hit targets. And in the modern game, it doesn’t get much more important than that.

“There is one guy there that no one talks about. He is only a 22-year-old and he has only played 43 games of football — Jayden Short,” dual North Melbourne premiership player David King said on SEN on Monday.

Jayden Short wins the ball in front of Collingwood young gun Jaidyn Stephenson.Source: News Corp Australia

“Off the half-back flank, he is the No. 1 metres gained player at Richmond and he is top five in the AFL. He is a beauty.

“He is a kicker and they don’t have a lot of kickers in this team — their handball game is what gets them where they want to go.

“He is an impactful player. Dustin Martin has had 160-odd kicks this year; Short has had six less kicks than him.”

While opposition sides have plenty of headaches when they face the reigning premiers, King believes they must now stop the young gun who has become a quarterback for the Tigers.

“I think there has now come a time that teams have to put some time into Jayden Short — that sounds ridiculous when you’ve got other players there off that half-back flank,” he said.

“If you can get two damaging half-backs — Houli and a Short — at the pointy end of the season, I’m nearly looking at tagging Short instead of [Bachar] Houli.

“He is a damaging player and the Richmond supporters love him.

“What Damien [Hardwick] has been able to do with him to get him into this team and reap the rewards with him; I think we are only just seeing the fruits.”